I'm an artist working with moku hanga, traditional Japanese woodblock printing

29 November 2007

Edna Boies Hopkins

Edna Boies Hopkins (1872-1937), a protege of Arthur Wesley Dow, created a large body of woodblock prints until her career was cut short by severe arthritis when she reached her early 50s. Although she is best known for her prints of flowers, I'm smitten with some of her figural works like the white line print above. It's so easy to overwork lines in a woodcut, so I like the way Hopkins' line retains the quirkiness and character of a hand drawn line. I've been thinking that I'd like to try using the white line method in some of my commercial work.

b'oki, I'm flattered that you identified me with that new Starbucks campaign. It caught my eye right away, too. It's actually done by one of my favorite Japanese illustrators, Tatsuro Kiuchi. I love his work.